Sammy, for instance, could discuss ancient Troy but couldn't draw a stick figure. He's doing so much better. There can be an age difference of a year (or more) in class. All in all we just think its not right move for him to move up, but we are struggling mostly with how he will react when he sees that all his buddies are in a different class and hes not able to interact with them the same way he used to. First grade is where kids must apply themselves to the act of learning to read and do simple math. - The youngest kids may be slower to develop physically, shorter, and less advanced with sports and other interests. She has been a regular education classroom teacher, a consultant teacher/resource teacher, an educational evaluator/diagnostician, and has also taught graduate students at the university level. A 14-year study conducted by the Texas A&M University College of Education and Human Development has determined that Texas students who are held back during elementary school are almost three times more likely than their peers to drop out of high school. They also were 3.3 percent more likely to graduate from . Whether it's kindergarten for a second time or playing catch-up over the summer to prepare for first grade, a positive, low-pressure attitude is essential. From old progress reports, it appears the emotional immaturity stemmed from not consistently staying on task and randomly talking out of turn. But there is very little out there about holding a child back in kindergarten to wait another year before starting first grade. Ask about any additional services the school can provide and what you can do at home to help. Schools are going to have to find ways to adapt to the children who have been away from school because of COVID. Varda Meyers Epstein serves as editor in chief of Kars4Kids Parenting. Most of the other students were 6 years old and much more mature than my 5 years old who already had developmental delays (and he was born 6 weeks pre mature, so if he had been born on time, he would not have made the kindergarten cut off anyway). If the speech therapist agrees with the teacher, youll know what to do. Just like I would rather her be a young 6 than a young 5 when starting kindergarten, I would rather her be a young 19 than barely-older-than-17 when she begins college (especially if she attends away from home). What could really be wrong about giving kids another year in kindergarten to let their social emotional skills mature? However, in years past, before standardized testing became so prominent, in the years when teaching to the test was an anathema, children learned to read in first grade. Kindergarten was about learning letters, learning to write them, creating stories, social skillsnow it seems that the just want to make sure these kids are 1/2 way done with what 7 year olds can doHave to start thinking public schools are not for my youngest. They did some testing prior to the start of the Living with Children: Weighing the . We asked our children several of the same questions, because my friend thinks my son is smarter than her daughter. Constantly. Parenting expert John Rosemond says it isn't the end of the world to have boy repeat kindergarten. . He's well above average academically and he gets along great with the kids, but his teacher wants him to repeat kindergarten because he's socially immature. But now he should be able to keep up with his friends in the work theyre doing in kindergarten. My, very young for grade (August 22nd birthday), 5 year old was reading at 3. There is absolutely no way your best friend with a 6 month old girl has been told her 6 month old is ready for the first grade most babies dont even start walking until 9 months let alone every other thing a child needs to be able to do in 1st grade! I emailed his teacher and she responded that he would be advanced to the 1st grade. There is typically little-to-no social stigma with repeating kindergarten; kids are often all too happy to get to do so. Speak to other parents and see what they think about the teachers judgment. We did not have the money to send him to daycare and it was just to short of a notice. I had 2 children held back and come to find out BOTH have dyslexia. Instead, I found myself teetering on a tiny chair while the teacher warned me that Sammy might have to repeat the year. In her defense they JUST started really reading. What if I want my child to repeat kindergarten but the school wont allow it because of the mo child left behind? Assuming that a child who is deemed ready to enter Kindergarten at age four is somehow a super-child - perfect in behavior, attendance, performance, attitude, aptitude, diligence, handwriting, and . Parents. I wish he were only going 1/2 a day but that wasnt an option where we live. We are solely to blame for not having our son attend pre-k as I was uneducated on its value. Learn about reasons for immature behavior and how to help. And should my husband and I agree to have him held back or "retained" if that's what his teacher ultimately advised? Helped build confidence. Some go to second grade. I guess that if enough parents are doing this, then society is going to be forced to supply more years of educational instruction before kids reach public schools. It doesnt sound right to me. You need to reassess. Get in touch! This, in my opinion could greatly help my son with almost zero downside. He loves school and I would hate to give him the stigma of repeating when it's something he doesn't have control over. Does he like to look at books? Shes also going to attend a reading program over the Summer. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. He was always in trouble in kindergarten, had difficulty making and keeping friends, never did homework or classwork, could not focus, did poorly on tests. Take a closer look at the immature behavior and see if you pick up on patterns. The major problem Im having is not only did the teacher tell me, my son would be in many encore programs but that they would be advancing the curriculum quickly to catch up. Published August 17, 2017. Experts also point out that holding a child back due to developmental delays is, literally speaking, further delaying development. Emotional. Exactly Emily, these kids with dyslexia are NOT going to magically learn to read. He has been staying after school to work on blending. It's also important to explain the plan to your child in a positive way, because your attitude will influence his. Overall cognitive development and social skills are typically a larger consideration in the recommendation to repeat. In any event, why not have him evaluated? Because children develop at such different rates and the kindergarten age span can run from 4 to 6, there is a tremendous range in social, physical and cognitive development. He where he should be academically. Joined Jan 1, 2006. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Blend Images/Ariel Skelley/the Agency Collection/. They did some testing prior to the start of the school year and told us they . But the truth is that today children begin learning to read before they enter the first grade. (Oh, and don't call it that!). Repeating kindergarten is not apocalyptic. Marzola is an adjunct assistant professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. 4. The work done at home, or not done at home, will place all children behind where they would have been socially and academically. For more information on grade school, child development and related topics, check out the links on the next page. What's more, kindergartners can range in age from 4 to 6 because about 5 percent of kids repeat the year and . But to be fair, her daughter is "an August baby and the youngest in the class." So now what should you do? Please help! Repeating Kindergarten. It's about whether he or she is ready to make the jump to first grade. Every child is different. There might be an illness or divorce in the family. All these things combined he has had a pretty tough Kindergarten. For a child who is behind his or her peers, these potential positives are real and significant. Change.org. I cannot emphasize enough for little the child will care. He ended up repeating Kindergarten and is doing great, having just finished 7th grade. Rather, a younger child's lack of maturity may make ADHD symptoms more obvious. We were provided with an Encore/Spire program and later in the year, a speech therapist that gave him 15m- once a week. Some children would benefit from repeating kindergarten. I think it will scar him to be kept back. While lots of schools still have a primarily play-based curriculum and relaxed standards, more and more have implemented a more academic approach to kindergarten, not only to get young children better prepared for first grade, when reading and math really take off, but also in an effort to meet increasingly objective and consequential government standards. Most school districts will inform you relatively early in the year if your child is at risk for retention. Since standardized testing, and the mandates it presents to schools, pencil and paper learning have been pushed down into kindergarten, and even prekindergarten, and children are not all developmentally ready for that kind of learning at five years old. There are, however, problems that can arise when a child is "held back." Ask your doctor to recommend someone or ask your school guidance counselor or psychologist for a consultation. What am I supposed to do though? The Age of the Child. Kindergarten starts around age 5 for a reason. Think about your child's emotional readiness. A fantastic memory, the main reason they want to possibly repeat kindergarten is due The decision to hold a child backoften called " red-shirting . If starting school is postponed for boys with birthdays after, say, June 1, "immature" boys suddenly become those with birthdays after March 1. I found out that a bunch of kids in my grade were like 21 months younger than me. Data showed that the September-born children were 2.1 percent more likely to attend college compared to their August-born classmates. In the end, it's impossible to predict how any individual will respond to staying back or moving on -- or even how much progress that child will make in the last months of school or over the summer. History repeating itself- A country with Socialist leaders disbanded the military and Russia invades - is this repeating, Politics and Other Controversies, 0 replies Names of good private pre-kindergarten or kindergarten in Woodlands, Houston, 1 replies By the time children are of school-age, their rate of infection is usually the same as the rate for . Question: Even though he had an early August birthday, we started our son in kindergarten at a private Christian school. Our son repeated pre-k due to his maturity level. The final decision about retention at the kindergarten level is usually up to the parents, but check the policy of your school district. Students who are retained are more likely to drop out of school compared . His school has been lacking in what a student needs to know and work on before end of year. As a result, the repeating-kindergarten phenomenon has become relatively commonplace. Shes says thats whats holding him back the fact hes not writing like he should. Holding a kid back in kindergarten or 1st grade has nothing to with sports. Well email you our most helpful stories and resources. (June 5, 2012) http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/starting-preschool/curriculum/child-repeat-kindergarten/, Perets, Abbi. First, identify the reasons. Going back to the blending.. he know all the alphabet and every sound. You can point out how their words or actions made you feel and ask them to be more sensitive in the future . My son, whose birthday is in September, has ADHD and started Adderall before school ended. He gets out of school in 3 weeks and we are just hearing about this issue. May 30, 2013 #1 . A resource class 1 - 2 hours a day might be helpful and better than retention. Is your child ready for kindergarten? I've also read children with ADHD are normally immature for their age. Repeat kindergarten? you say to yourself, after meeting with your childs kindergarten teacher. Some school districts also offer a "young fives" program. Not kind of reading but really reading. Im so upset! We were reassured that they would work with his math and build on what he knows with reading, but not once did we hear anything about resources that can help him with reading if we chose to put him in first gradethat was made out to be just another burden for someone to do. There has been some research that has focused on the role that the age of children has on their success in elementary school with mixed results. Andrew mined two large data sets in a way no researcher has done before and concludes that kids who repeat a year between kindergarten and fifth grade are 60 percent less likely to graduate high school than kids with similar backgrounds, and even . She will be older when she starts college. Copyright 2014-2023 Understood For All Inc. developmental milestones at different ages, Annoying other kids by talking too much or barging in on their games, Overreacting to what seem like minor things and taking a long time to calm down, Clinging and not wanting to be apart from you, Having to be told the same rule over and over again, like Its not OK to climb on that furniture, Struggling with bathroom issues, like bedwettingor being afraid to poop, Being overly sensitive to things like loud noises or the way clothes feel, Using baby talk or speaking in ways that are hard to understand, Having trouble with things like putting on a coat or gripping a pencil. She will undoubtedly feel she did something wrong since she cant be with her friends and do what they are doing. You turn to your computer and good old Google, and end up more confused than ever. He has been diagnosed with ASD, is developmentally delayed and has ADHD. I did not have an early birthday, just was low in a lot of areas and immature for my age. Can he paste? Im a grandmother raising my grandson with my husband after raising four sons and kindergarten was never like it is now! This doesn't mean you won't . It can be a better fit emotionally and age-wise. For some children, a bridge class between kindergarten and first grade offers time to grow. But when a child often acts immaturely compared to other kids the same age, you may wonder whats going on. Exactly! He cannot follow directions consistently enough and other kids are not being nice to him because he is more immature. The kids are expected to write sentences and use inventive spelling (spell phonetically) for words that they havent learned yet. My parents had me repeat 1st grade. His academics are really good. They needed less remediation, and they earned higher grades while enrolled. Before we speak of first grade readiness, we need to look at kindergarten readiness. I have enrolled him in a new school for a fresh start. During first year, was one of the youngest in the class. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Varda is the mother of 12 children and is also a grandmother of 12. "It is up to each district," said Gennie Gorback, president of the California Kindergarten Association, "but I have not heard of any district that is flexible about age requirements for enrollment. These test results were always provided in graph format. I suggest you have him evaluated by a speech therapist and see what the speech therapist thinks. He has emotional issues, is not matured, does well with younger kids as is, and just has not yet developed emotionally where he should be for his age. There is a vast amount of scientific research showing that children do not benefit by being held back in grade school. Where are they? My son has completely lost his memory of everything he studied or learned. received feedback from a child's provider or pre-school teacher that your child may be too socially and academically immature to begin kindergarten, carefully consider that advice as well. Is this fact likely to upset him a great deal? Julie Rawe is the special projects editor at Understood. Students are required to not only know ALL letters and sounds but all sight words by mid year. Old born in November. There may be individual cases in which a child benefits, such as if she's missed a lot of school because of illness or a move, or if she has significant delays in all areas of development. You may want to seek help from the school in having your child assessed for school readiness. That can be frustrating and cause kids to act out. My son's teachers are suggesting he repeat kindergarten. What's more, kindergartners can range in age from 4 to 6 because about 5 percent of kids repeat the year and another 7 percent wait a year before starting, according to the latest figures from the National Center for Educational Statistics. After that, we both went to a public high school and graduated at 19 years old in June 2006. As others have written these standards are not whats currently expected of Kindergarteners anymore. Faced with this revelation, it can seem someone is questioning your child's mental acuity. It is also seen that being older in the class may help your . Our little guy is very social and very much aware of his surroundings even figuring out adult things out. I'm looking for advice/experience in having a child repeat a grade. When faced with the decision, the first step is to meet with your child's teacher (and principal and school psychologist, if possible) to find out exactly why the experts think another year would be productive. For more parenting tips and tricks, find us on Pinterest: Are you a writer, expert, or influencer? These teachers, trying to put all kids in a peg as either Got it or Did not get it, are unconscionable ! Language: Does the child have trouble pronouncing words or expressing ideas? This makes it difficult to get a sample group of very young students with diagnosed learning disabilities we can study. We just met with the teacher, her aid, the principal and counselor and were told by the teacher she still couldnt recommend him for first grade because of his poor reading skills and comprehension which surprised me because of how he can tell us all about the stories we read! The reason? If a "growth year" is called for because of immaturity, and you choose to ignore the recommendation and move him into first grade at another school, there is significant likelihood that he will be . Does he try to tell the story by looking at the pictures? Some kids act younger than their peers because they are younger than most kids in the grade. I cant tell you all shes put up with this year, all the extra tutoring in and outside of school, the testing, speech therapy, etc etc. However his fine motor skills need work. Rather than be upset, it pays to remember that the only thing to think about here is the well-being of your child. She's been a teacher for over 20 years, and says she . Have you thought about holding your child back from first grade? 7. My son is in what they call the foundation year, kindergarten. It should be criminal to do that to these kids. Following that advice, my parents moved us to a private school that went through 8th grade. - My son will graduate high school and only be 17 years old. Many of them suggest parents seek independent evaluation for specific developmental delays and then, if the results warrant it, spend time in occupational therapy over the summer to try to catch up. Read David Elkinds Miseducation and look up the High Scope program. "Should Your Child Repeat Kindergarten?" Another factor to consider is whether your child is as emotionally developed as his or her peers. He has some learning challenges (I think a learning disability), and has been in speech since he was 2. . Staying in kindergarten means not only repeat exposure to the curriculum and so a greater chance of picking it up, but it also means being the oldest -- and most knowledgeable, mature and capable -- student in class, which can increase confidence dramatically, setting the tone for long-term positive self-concept and continued school success. Was my bright little boy going to flunk kindergarten, I wondered, because he didn't care about arts and crafts? So i dont believe in repeating kindergarten. You just couldnt see or analyze yourself ! He didnt even register on the standard test they gave to that assesses each student. Instead, we got him the occupational therapy that was recommended, and he went on to have a great year in first grade. Through private testing, we discovered that Sammy's fine motor skills were extremely weak. To sum up, his fine motor skills are good, his pre-reading skills are good, but he may not yet be mature enough for kindergarten. Hes great with a scissors, but doesnt really get along well with other children. I will do what I need to do. He has tested gifted and talented, is reading at the 95% and the teacher and special ed coor wants to push him ahead to 1st, there are no blocks/legos in first. In most states, a child is not considered ready for first grade until he or she can read simple books. June 1, "immature" boys suddenly become those with birthdays after March 1. If your child still finds these tasks difficult by the end of kindergarten, he is probably not ready to go to first grade, either. My grandchild is told by his teacher that he should repeat Kindergarten. Family.com. The most important thing, in the end, is how you react to the situation. No matter what you decide to do, keep in mind your child is looking to you to set the tone. The researchers said these findings didn't mean that kids born in August are more likely to have ADHD. It cannot be allowed to be a lost year. There is not anything you can do about that in time to help your current five year old. Some young children attain the age of reason, the ability . Does he wait his turn? Kindergarten retention totally ignores what we know about child development.Early childhood is a period of very rapid intellectual growth. Get that out of your head immediately. Please note: This "Expert Advice" area of FamilyEducation.com should be used for general information purposes only. That is not a requirement in Colorado we are told to have them at least know 30 of the 100 most frequently used words, and they should be able to read, but not fluently. Q: Even though he had an early-August birthday, we started our son in kindergarten this past fall at a private Christian school. Hi, So finally did you decide on this? You may be right that the primary problem is an inexperienced teacher. I believe struggling kids should be promoted, but receive other intervention methods, such as intensified learning, supplementing classroom instruction, and providing one-on-one tutoring with a teacher or cross-age tutoring with an older student . We are confident that she will be prepared for 1st grade by September. Second, holding your child back can have a negative connotation. It's hard to hear but if you trust the school, trust the teachers. Thing to think about here is the mother of 12 but couldn & x27. Mo child left behind we are confident that she will undoubtedly feel she did something wrong since cant... In June 2006 very social and very much aware of his surroundings Even figuring out adult things out a. School because of COVID and what you decide to do so for 1st grade has nothing to with sports birthday... You pick up on patterns find ways to adapt to the children who have been away school! But if you trust the school year and told us they area FamilyEducation.com... 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